Mobil 1 Advanced Clean formulation change

Talked to a technical support technician after several phone transfers, that is what he said for my Subaru since it is still under warranty, so to make a long story shorter, went to Walmart and behold they had some Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, got two jugs of each 0w-20 (winter) and 5w-30 for the summer, put in car and no more start up noise after I drained ( extracted ) the Mobil 1 ESP 0w-30, go figure used a new filter (Purolator one),I just to get this, but clearly the SQ, GF-7 rated Pennzoil Ultra Platinum works better in the Subaru.
@facility1 - since you bought the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum make sure you put in for the $30 rebate https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/promotions/do-it-yourself-oil-change/rewards.html
 
Well, I have more updates Mobil tech support. They are now claiming its a mistake. This is when I questioned them about having a bottle with Dexos logo:


We just received conformation that the Mobil 1 Advanced Clean 0W-20 and 5W-30 are dexos1 gen3 approved. The Website is in the process of being updated
 
I guess some genius removed Dexos from the documents by accident. This was escalated to management!
 
^^^ This ^^^
And why are people assuming non vertically integrated companies won’t be changing …
Exactly. If ExxonMobil needs to change then the companies that are merely blenders are going to really be subject to whatever these industry headwinds throw at them over the foreseeable future.
 
Looks like they listened to my comment and have corrected PDS to include Dexos gen3 for 0w20 and 5w30.
Their technical support was not very helpful, they first states its no longer Dexos gen3. Only after I told them that I see bottles in the store with Dexos logo they had to follow up with their "engineering" and admitted it was a mistake in a document. I would say this is very sloppy.



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Looks like they listened to my comment and have corrected PDS to include Dexos gen3 for 0w20 and 5w30.
Their technical support was not very helpful, they first states its no longer Dexos gen3. Only after I told them that I see bottles in the store with Dexos logo they had to follow up with their "engineering" and admitted it was a mistake in a document. I would say this is very sloppy.



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The way they are handling this entire situation seems very rushed and "fly by the seat of the pants".

A calculated and methodical approach just wasn't within their capability, I guess.
 
Just because there is a change in formulation, does not mean that there is a change in performance.

Might be is response to the global oil supply situation.
I think a change in formulation guarantees a change in performance. The question is not whether it's different, it's whether it's different enough to matter.

It's almost certainly the case that it performs differently but cannot be detected except within XOM's own labs. Within the crude resolution of spec meeting, it's indistinguishable in all probability.
 
besides no PAO, there are other things that you can see changed:
1. cSt got lower at 100C. 5w-30 is now 9.75 cSt, thats too low IMHO
2. Pour points moved from -50C to -30C, I guess another confirmation of PAO substitute
 
This engine also began using oil during OCIs after these extended runs (which, we now recognize piston ring deposits are a thing and isn’t something a UOA will reflect)
It's normal to start burning oil. Iron was high rocketing, silicon was high too.
The OCI were greatly above both car manufacturer recommendations and oil manufacturer recommendations (M1 AFE is rated to 15K miles), especially the last two OCI.
Also, M1 AFE is not robust exceptional oil, most likely average oil. I wouldn't use it longer than 5–7.5K miles. You did double and triple that.
 
It's normal to start burning oil. Iron was high rocketing, silicon was high too.
The OCI were greatly above both car manufacturer recommendations and oil manufacturer recommendations (M1 AFE is rated to 15K miles), especially the last two OCI.
Also, M1 AFE is not robust exceptional oil, most likely average oil. I wouldn't use it longer than 5–7.5K miles. You did double and triple that.
As stated before, it used to have a better base oil in the formulation and the UOA themselves appeared fine. We were less informed at the time on other factors though.

Remember, AFE 0w-20 had a good % of PAO before. The issue is simply piston deposits. The wear numbers are fine. Iron accumulates with miles.

And, again, this was my BIL’s vehicle not my own.

That said, I did run AFE out to almost 15k once, but swapped to M1 EP when AFE formulation changed.

Despite all of that, to your point, if the oil isn’t marketed as extended use then regardless of base oils it’s a gamble. We were using Blackstone Labs at the time as well and they do not track oxidation in their analysis.

My BIL’s vehicle most recently had a rate of 1 Qt consumption at 1,100 miles. This is while on VRP; jumping up from 2,500-3,000 miles per Qt.

We’re still learning and tracking each vehicle.

Looking back, I’d say the insolubles creeping up is about the only thing those Blackstone reports gave us that indicated something was going wrong with the length of the interval. Pretty much all other results fall into a normal category; Si reading is low maybe you are seeing the Boron? 🤔 🤷‍♂️

PS: I wouldn’t call oil burning that developed after or with an exceptionally long OCI as “normal” and in our situations, most likely it’s a function of running said intervals too long. A sudden spike in consumption is a simple observation that can indicate the oil has been in service too long. Maybe that’s what you meant?
 
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